


Flashed Junk Mind

by lietpol



Category: Descendants (Disney Movies)
Genre: A little angst, Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Cutesy, Fluff and Angst, M/M, They Make It Work, barely, carlos is kind of rude, jay is kind of rude
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-20
Updated: 2016-07-20
Packaged: 2018-07-25 13:25:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,189
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7534444
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lietpol/pseuds/lietpol
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jaylos Week Theme 1: Real world AUs</p>
<p>Jay is a sassy barista and Carlos is one of those pain in the ass customers.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Flashed Junk Mind

“What do you mean I can’t add in five extra shots of espresso to my coffee? I’m willing to pay extra!” The blond, or semi-blond- Jay wasn’t quite sure- yelled from the other side of the counter. Jay took a deep breath and had to find the mental effort to not pinch the bridge of his nose.

“We have a safety policy on how many shots of espresso are allowed in each drink, sir,” he deadpanned. “For this particular drink, I’m only permitted to add in two additional shots. Adding in five could cause serious damage to your heart and brain.”

It was clear that this guy didn’t give a shit about what happened to his organs, as Jay could tell by the anger that settled on his tense features. He found the way the boy bit his lip oddly enticing. This guy wasn’t ugly, that was for sure. Jay wasn’t sure what his sexuality really was right now, but he knew he wasn’t straight. The hint of flushed cheeks on the stranger’s freckled skin set Jay’s imagination off, and he found himself suppressing a groan. Assholes weren’t usually his type, but exceptions were made all the time.

“Fine.” The blond threw his hands up in exasperation. Jay wanted to see them pinned behind his head. “What’s the most caffeinated drink you have here?”

***

Hours passed, and work moved on like always. People rattled off orders without even looking up from their phones, and Jay made them just as impassively. The job sucked, but it paid. However, his mind never seemed to stop picturing the blond guy, whose name was Carlos, as Jay had found out. He purposefully asked him to spell the name out, just to stall Carlos’s inevitable departure with his sugary-sweet-death-trap of a drink. Carlos looked ridiculously annoyed, and it was clear when he asked if Jay knew any other way to spell his name in a monotone voice.

After completing that awful, heart-attack-inducing drink for Carlos, the boy walked over to a table and set himself up with his computer and numerous books. A quick glance at his watch told Jay that he still had a while before his shift was over. He wondered just how long this irksome person would stay at the coffee shop, but also found pleasure in knowing he would be able to watch Carlos. It was a bit odd, but his presence was almost magnetic. He wanted to let himself be pulled into the mystery of Carlos.

The feeling of scalding coffee dripping onto his skin brought Jay out of his momentary reverie. He quickly fixed the drink he screwed up and sent it to its owner. God, it was going to be a horrendously long day.

“Fuck you, Carlos,” he muttered beneath the whirring of the machines.

Sometimes this job made him feel like he was not quite human. He had all of these drinks memorized and his hands never hesitated. It was as if he were built to do this. Which really sucked, because Jay was always scared of feeling like he was living on a constant loop. The same routine scared him, and that’s why he really had no close friends. They never understood that he felt anchored to one place for too long. Sometimes the loneliness ate away at him until there was hardly a person left, but a persona of charm Jay had built to make a few more bucks go into his tip jar. He was longing for a change, but nothing provided him hope for the future.

He had the occasional fling with someone, but he always left if they started to show signs of attachment. It honestly made him feel like the biggest jerk he knew, but Jay was terrified of being stuck to one person. He broke many hearts, but his was intact, as far as he could tell.

“-Hey.”

A cold hand latched itself onto Jay’s bare forearm, and he startled for a moment. The unexpected contact sent a jolt through his spine as his eyes met with the calculating, yet sparkling eyes of Carlos. There was nobody in line, and he only had an hour left of his shift. As much as he wanted to break protocol and get personal with a customer, he could not bring himself to. Jay was never one to be nervous around someone he may have fancied, but the way Carlos made him feel was a new experience. For once, _he_ felt a pull towards another person. He wanted to be able to sit and get to know the mysterious boy in front of him.

“You space out more than me, and I’m the one studying for finals,” Carlos snapped. Jay must have looked rather ignorant as he stood behind the counter, his lips parted in shock and his eyes staring holes into Carlos. He fumbled with a few buttons on the register just to pretend as if he knew what to do, and apologized to the boy in front of him.

“Were you looking to buy food?”

“No, why would I come to a coffee house for food, Jay?”

He swore his brain was short-circuiting, because all that was in his head was how Carlos could possibly know his name. Then he remembered they were in a public location where Jay was forced to wear his name on his chest. God, he needed to get ahold of himself immediately.

“You… want more coffee?”

“Good job, genius,” Carlos mocked. “I need another one of whatever you made me earlier.”

“You realize I make over a thousand drinks a day, right?” Who did Carlos think he was? But of course Jay remembered the drink. How could he forget? Carlos was such an ass about the entire ordeal that morning, that Jay figured the memory would be burned into his brain.

“Also, that’s a ton of caffeine. Like, I’m assuming you don’t care, but it can kill you.”

Carlos scoffed and flailed his arms in the direction of a table, which was weighed down by several large textbooks. Jay managed to make out some of the titles, which included Thermodynamics for Dummies, and Advanced Engineering.

“This exam is going to kill me!”

“Can I ask how old you are?” Carlos did not look older than seventeen, but who knew.

“I really don’t think you can, but I’m nineteen. Why?” Carlos sounded guarded, and Jay knew he was probably coming off as a creep.

“Those text books… That’s some crazy advanced stuff. Most of the engineers I know didn’t even begin their courses until they were in their twenties. It seems like you’re finishing?”

“Yea.” Carlos drew his gaze to the ground. “I worked as hard as possible to get through school as quick as I could.”

Jay stopped himself from pushing onward and asking why. That was too personal, and Carlos clearly was not comfortable with this conversation.

“So you want the same order from earlier?”

“I thought you didn’t remember,” Carlos smirked.

“I lied.”

***

The hour passed faster than Jay could recall. He was disheartened to see Carlos packing up all of his books, and did not want to let him walk out of his life so easily. But there was really nothing he could do at this point. There was not enough time for him to make up some kind of excuse to keep the younger boy around, and Jay felt like he was losing something special.

The sky was dark and the air was cold, and Jay took his normal spot along the wall outside of the store. He watched Carlos clamber into his red fiat, the engine softly whirring to life and cutting through the silence. As Carlos backed out of the empty lot, he caught Jay’s gaze and creased his brows. The fiat rounded the corner and pulled up to the wall as the window went down.

“Do you not have a car?” Carlos sounded genuinely concerned, which was something Jay was not used to.

“No, man. I just wait for the taxis to come by.” Jay responded. For some reason, seeing Carlos in his fiat and with his expensive text books made Jay feel insecure about having to wait for a taxi on the streets. But he made it around well enough, and he always knew there were people struggling, so he tried his best to keep his spirit up.

Carlos looked uneasy as he fiddled with the steering wheel. He glanced around several times before finally seeming to come to a decision. The passenger door popped open and he nodded for Jay to get in. Jay cocked an eyebrow and Carlos groaned at him.

“Just get in, Jay.”

“Say no more, Carlos. This is just the first time I’m getting into someone’s car rather than, say, their pants.”

“Gross, you’re disgusting.”

Jay laughed as he kicked his way through papers and empty soda cans.

“You know, if you want to litter your car, maybe you should try water bottles. They’re healthy for you, and they don’t leave a weird smell of processed sugar.” Jay wrinkled his nose to emphasize his point.

“I didn’t let you in for you to judge my dietary ways,” he quipped.

Jay huffed out another laugh and leaned back into his seat. He turned and watched as Carlos silently pulled away and onto the main street. “Why did you let me in?”

“If I’m being honest, I don’t know” Carlos admitted. His grip on the wheel was a little tense, but he seemed calm enough. Jay figured he was not crossing too many lines.

“Maybe it’s how stubborn you are with customers. You don’t seem to have that ‘customers are always right’ philosophy.”

Jay snorted. “That’s because they’re usually wrong.”

Carlos grinned and turned a corner. Jay quickly provided him with an address, so that the boy was not just wasting fuel.

“Or maybe it’s your infuriating ability to piss people off. I don’t get that much in my life. There’s just something about you that makes me want to stick around, I guess.”

“Me too,” Jay responded before he could stop himself.

“Yea?” Carlos asked.

“Yea.”

When they passed through the fifth minute of silence, Jay finally worked up the nerve to ask the question that had been on his mind.

“Why are you working on getting through school so fast?”

There was a tangible change in the atmosphere. Carlos seemed to close in on himself. The walls that were falling were gradually going back up. “I’m sorry, you don’t need to answer that if you’re not comfortable. It’s just so admirable, you know? You’re so young and you’re almost done with engineering school,” Jay gushed.

Carlos was relieved that the darkness effectively hid the annoying blush creeping into his face. He liked Jay, that was for sure, but he did not understand just how far that feeling went. If Carlos took the time to delve into his emotions, he was sure that he was harboring a romantic feeling towards this near stranger. It was unusual, because he only tended to like people after he had known them for a while.

“To get along on my own, mostly. My family is just a story for another day, if that’s alright.”

Jay nodded, though Carlos was focusing on the road. He found it endearing that the boy was blushing, but Carlos seemed to be trying to hide it.

“Oh,” Jay just barely noticed that they were on his street. “We’re here.”

“Yea,” Carlos responded, a tinge of sadness coating his voice.

“I kind of don’t want to get out,” Jay said, laughing to himself.

“I kind of don’t want you to get out, either” Carlos admitted.

Jay sighed, trying to figure out what he needed to do next. “Look, it’s late. You’re cute. We both have to get up early in the morning. How about I give you my number?”

“How about I also come pick you up in the morning? The coffee shop is really close to my campus; it wouldn’t be a problem” Carlos added on as he saw the stubborn face Jay was making. His favorite type of person was the one who did not easily take things when they were offered.

“That would be nice” Jay grinned as he pulled a pen out of his pocket. “Leave it to a barista to have a spare pen. Got some paper?”

Carlos raised a brow and simply offered his hand. Jay laughed as he gripped the younger boy’s slim wrist to steady him as he wrote the number into his skin.

“This was fun, thanks. See you in the morning?” Jay asked, as if reassuring himself this all happened, and he was not stuck in some cruel dream.

“Definitely. Bye, Jay.”

As the red fiat sped down the road, Jay realized that was probably the most emotion he ever released in one day. Carlos made him undeniably happy. He took all of Jay’s doubts and insecurities and made them seem so small in comparison to his own blazing personality. Most of all, Carlos gave Jay something he never had.

A reason to stay.


End file.
